Literary Terms

What is a Short Story?

A short story is a brief work of fiction where, usually, the main character faces a conflict that is worked out, or resolved, in the plot of the story

Character

• Character – a person in a story, poem or play

• Types of Characters– Round – fully developed, has many different

character traits– Flat- stereotyped, one-dimensional, few traits

– Static – does not change – Dynamic – changes as a result of the story's

events, or plot

Characterization

How the author develops the characters, especially the main character

Characterization

• Direct characterization– The author directly states what the character’s

personality is like. – Example: “He is a cruel person.”

• Indirect characterization– A character’s personality is shown through

his/her actions, thoughts, feelings, words, appearance or other character’s observations or reactions. (We, as readers, make inferences.)

Protagonist

Main character of the story who changes– the most important character– makes a realization about self or the world

around him/her

Note: Death is not a change.

Antagonist

• A major character who opposes the protagonist– the antagonist does not change

• Types of antagonists:– people– nature– society

Conflict

• A struggle between two opposing forces• Types

– Internal – takes place in a character’s own mind (i.e., decision or choice)

• Man vs. Self

– External – a character struggles against an outside force

• Man vs. Man• Man vs. Nature• Man vs. technology, progress• Man vs. Society• Man vs. Supernatural

What is the Plot?

Plot: Series of events that make up a story

Climax

Falling Action

Resolution

Rising Action

Exposition

Exposition

• Part of the story that introduces characters, setting, and conflicts

Setting

• The time and place of the story’s action

• Setting is part of the Exposition

Rising Action

• Consists of a series of complications.

• These occur when the main characters take action to resolve their problems and are met with further problems:– Fear– Hostility– Threatening situation

Climax

The turning point in the story: the high point of interest and suspense

Rising Action or Complications Falling Action

Climax

Falling Action

All events following the climax or turning point in the story. These events are a result of the action taken at the climax.

Resolution

• (Dénouement)

• The end of the central conflict: it shows how the situation turns out and ties up loose ends

Point of View

Perspective, or vantage point, from which the writer tells the story– 1st person- One of the characters is actually

telling the story using the pronoun “I”– 3rd person limited- Centers on one character’s

thoughts and actions.– Omniscient- All-knowing narrator. May

center on the thoughts and actions of any and all characters.

Theme

• The central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work.

• The “main idea” of the story

• What the author wants us to take away from the story.

Flashback

The present scene in the story is interrupted to flash backward and tell what happened in an earlier time

Foreshadowing

Clues the writer puts in the story to give the reader a hint of what is to come

Symbol

An object, person, or event that functions as itself, but also stands for something more than itself.Example: Scales function is to weigh things,

but they are also a symbol

of our justice system.

Figurative Language

Involves some imaginative comparison between two unlike things– Simile – compares two unlike things using like

or asExample: “I wandered lonely as a cloud”

– Metaphor – compares two unlike things (not using like or as)

Example: Life is a roller coaster; it has lots of ups and downs.

Figurative Language

Personification – Gives human qualities to non-human things– “The wind screamed.”– “The fog crept in quietly.”

Irony

A contrast between expectation and reality

Examples:

The high school student with the highest grades drops out of school.

The traffic officer is arrested because

of a backlog of unpaid parking tickets.

Types of Irony• Verbal – saying one thing but meaning something

completely different.Example: Calling a clumsy basketball player “Lebron

James”

• Situational – A contradiction between what is expected and what really does happen Example: The Titanic sinking.

• Dramatic – occurs when the reader knows something important that the characters in the story do not know. Example: We know who the murderer is, but the character does not creates suspense

Allusion

• Reference to a statement, person, a place, or events from:– Literature– History– Religion– Mythology– Politics– SportsExample: “I am surprised his nose was not

growing like Pinocchio’s.”

Suspense

Uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels about what is going to happen next in a story

Imagery

Language that appeals to the senses.– Touch– Taste– Sight– Sound– Smell

Creating a picture in the reader’s mind through

description

Example: A seven-foot giant with rat-like teeth, greasy hair, hands like mitts, and musty, loose clothing

Tone

• The speaker’s or narrator’s attitude towards the subject

• Authors create tone through word choice and imagery.

• May be formal, informal, somber, playful, etc.

Mood

The general feeling a piece of writing creates within the reader

Example: You may feel saddened by what you read, or you may be roaring with laughter.